A Change for the Best
by Just Cy
Summary: When Ichigo and Ryou get together Lettuce decides it's time for a change, will her new friend be able to help her in this procces? This is my entry for Aoi Maboroshi-Chan's Canon and OC contest. Lettuce x OC. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew. This is my entry for Aoi Maboroshii-Chan's OC x Cannon contest.**

_**Chapter 1**_

Lettuce looked across the room out the window, thinking about Shirogane, she really liked him, but he had started going out with Ichigo a few weeks ago. She sighed; things had changed so much since they defeated the aliens. The aliens had been gone for three years, Lettuce was seventeen, a senior, and she still hadn't even had a real first kiss. She figured the one with Ryou didn't count because he had been unconscious. She still didn't have any friends apart from the mews, and that had been okay t first, but it made school lonely after awhile.

"Midorikawa-san!" her teacher stood in front of her desk looking down at her.

"Oh sorry, Suzuki-sensei!" she apologized embarrassed that she was the only other one in the room; she bowed and got up to leave.

"Wait, Midorikawa-san," he stopped her.

"Huh?" she asked confused.

"Are you doing okay?" he asked her.

"Um, yeah, why do you ask?" she replied even more confused than before.

"You just seem kinda down all the time, the other teachers agree."

"Oh, well, I'm doing okay; things are just kinda hectic at work, and you know, looking for colleges is stressful as well."

"Um, if you need to talk, I'm here, and so are all of the teachers, well except Saito-sensei, but you known how she is."

Lettuce let out a little laugh, "Thanks for the concern. Please tell the others I'm fine."

"All right, I will, you may go," he said dubiously, and she left with a bow. Lettuce sighed, she didn't want people to worry about her, she went towards the front entrance to the school, bit bumped into someone, scattering their books everywhere.

"Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai!" she said with a bow, and looked up at the person she had run into. He had black hair that looked like an Australian singer's she liked to listen to, the singer's name was Dean Geyer. He looked a lot like that singer in fact.

"It's no big deal. My name is Ito Toshihiro, what's yours?"

"Midorikawa Lettuce, I'm sorry I ran into you," she said as she gathered her books.

"Don't worry about it, it was nice to meet you, Midorikawa-san," he said standing up, and handing her a notebook.

"Arigato, and gomen, again, for running into you," she said with a bow.

He laughed a little, "Don't worry about it. I'll see you around."

"Yeah," she smiled and went out to the door, and she made her way to work.

The sky was grey and the air smelled of snow, she pulled her coat closer as the wind blew, chilling her to the bone. She loved winter; there was something uniquely beautiful about it. She walked the secluded path she often took to get from school to work. She remembered many times when she would just stay on the path, going as slow as possible, soaking in the beauty of the scenery. Today, however, she had to rush, that incident with Ito-san slowed her up.

She looked up at the pink café, at one point it had been her safe haven, right now however, it was just something to add to her problems. There was nothing binding her there, she could quit at anytime, but in some ways she didn't feel like she could. It was hard to pick between the only friends she had and a certain peace of mind. Maybe she could just ask for some time off, that could solve the problem…

She walked in the café to find that she was the only one there, "Hello?" she called, she got no response, well, she would go change anyway, someone would show up eventually. She quickly changed and started putting chairs down. After half an hour of thinking and doing nothing at all she decided to go see if Shirogane knew what was happening. She knocked on the door, and heard no response, she thought about just going away but she decided maybe he hadn't heard her.

She opened the door and gasped at what she saw. She quickly closed the door and ran downstairs, tears welling up in her eyes she ran into the changing room and quickly changed then ran out of the café, she heard someone calling but she didn't care she couldn't get the image she had seen out of her head. She knew that Ichigo and Ryou had been dating, but she had no idea that they were sexually active.

She was upset but as snow started to fall she stopped, and a thought came to her, why be sad, or angry? She wasn't Ryou's girlfriend, or even ex-girlfriend, she had reason to be upset. She had never told Ryou, and this was a perfect opportunity to change. Yes, this would be a great opportunity.


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own TMM!**

_Chapter 2_

Lettuce went home and got her bank card that she kept in her drawer for whenever she needed money, or wanted to get any business done at the bank. She generally didn't carry it on her unless she thought she'd be spending an amount of money she didn't think it would be safe to carry as cash, this was about to be one of those times.

She grabbed the card, shoved it in her pocket and left to start at the salon. She walked in and was immediately greeted by a kind looking middle-aged women with long brown hair.

"Hello, dear, do you have n appointment?"

"Um, iie, is that okay?" she asked with an apologetic look.

"Not at all, dear, what can I do for you?"

"Um, a shampoo, cut, and highlights."

"All right, what sort of hair style would you like, and what highlights with your pretty green hair?"

"Um, a bob style hair with dramatic left side-swept bangs, um at a length about an inch or two above my chin."

"Well, I'm glad you know what you want, a lot of girls have no idea, you can go back to the shampoo station. Oh, and you can take those braids of yours out." Lettuce took her braids out and the women seemed a bit surprised at the length of her hair but began shampooing her hair. "So dear, what made you decide you wanted change? You obviously haven't had a haircut in a long time."

"Well, the guy I had a crush on asked out my best friend, and well, I decided I should move on. I thought a change might help me," she said, trying not to think of what she had seen, it was hard.

"Well, I think that's a grand idea. Uh, you know I am such a scatter brain, what's your name dear?"

"Midorikawa Lettuce, what's yours?"

"Sasaki Aya. So, any reason for wanting this particular style?"

"No, it's just a style I've always thought was cute."

"Phew, I thought it might be your friend's hairstyle."

"No, she wears her hair in pigtails, and I want to move on."

"All right, well, let's move on to cutting some of this gorgeous hair off, then we'll highlight it when it's at a suitable length."

"Doomo Arigato," Lettuce said and they moved on. Aya was very understanding of Lettuce's situation. Aya liked Lettuce, and Lettuce was impressed with Aya's skill and personality. She knew she'd be coming back here a lot.

"Do you mind if I turn you around so you're surprised when you see yourself?"

"Not at all," Lettuce said. Aya and Lettuce talked extensively throughout the long process of the first part of her transformation.

"Ready?" Aya asked at the end of the two hours of the styling, highlighting, and cutting.

"Hai!" Lettuce said eager to see her new look, she gasped when she looked in the mirror.

"That's you, honey," Aya said with a smile.

"I can't believe it," she said, looking at herself.

"Yeah, I can tell this was your first stop, you're gonna look even better with some clothes and make-up."

"Hai, I don't really know what I'm doing, but I'll do my best. I know I made the right choice by coming here and getting this hair style."

"That you did, I'm only open for another hour and I don't have any appointments. Do you want me to come with you? Uh, what am I saying, we just met, course you don't? "

"Of course, as long as it's no trouble to you, I'd love you to come!"

"Oh, it's no trouble dear! Let me close up real quick," Aya said and quickly begin preparations to close. She did it quickly and they departed from the store to the mall. Lettuce and Aya spent the rest of the day shopping and Lettuce had a completely new wardrobe by the end of the day. She got her ears pierced, getting her second holes as well as her first. Lettuce also learned how to apply make-up and got contacts.

"I've had so much fun today, thank you so much, Aya-san!"

"No problem, Lettuce-chan, I had fun too. I hope your transformation helps you."

"It already is," Lettuce said and she gave the hairdresser a hug.

"I'm glad I could help, you look like a million bucks. Oh, and you should come back to see me in a month or two for a trim and a touch up in your highlights."

"No problem," Lettuce said and her phone started to ring. She looked at the caller, it was her mother, "Uh, do you mind if I take this?"

"No, not at all, actually, I have to leave, my husband is probably wondering where I am," Aya gave Lettuce a hug and departed.

"Hey, Mom," Lettuce greeted her mother.

"Lettuce, where are you, I tried calling the café but no one answered!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I went out. Something made me realize I needed to make a change in my life, today was just the start. You'll probably be surprised when you see me."

"Um, ok, I'll see you when you get home."

"Hai, bye."

"Bye," her mother said and she hung up. Her phone rang again, it was Ryou.

"Lettuce?" he asked when she answered.

"What's up, Shirogane?" she asked, casually, like nothing had happened.

"Um, I'm sorry."

"About what? I found a voicemail on my phone, I hadn't checked, it's my own fault. Plus, I evaded your privacy."

"Uh, well, I'm still sorry you saw that," he said, and she could hear that he deeply regretted it.

"Well, I can't change it, so I'm just gonna do my best to forget it."

"Lettuce, are you okay, you seem more," he paused thinking of a word, "confident."

"I feel more confident, I made some changes, and I think they're going to be for the best. I have to go."

"Um, okay, and I understand if you don't show up for work tomorrow."

"I'll be there, bye," she said and hung up. She started to walk home, and the snow started falling again. She smiled, this was going to be a good thing.


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own TMM!**

_Chapter 3_

"Hello, Let-" her mother stopped in mid-sentence when she saw her daughter. Her jaw dropped, she didn't know what to think, Lettuce looked good, but at the same time, it wasn't what she was used too. She would support Lettuce though. "Wow," was all she managed to say.

"Thanks," Lettuce said, and continued, "I'll give you a hug, but please let me go put my clothes and make-up up in my room." Her mother nodded, and Lettuce ran upstairs. She quickly returned and gave her mother a hug.

"Um, Lettuce, how did you pay for all that?"

"Oh, right, I had some money set aside, not for college; I have a different account for that."

"All right, well, it-it's time for dinner," her mother said and they walked into the kitchen.

"Whoa, Lettuce, you look hot," her brother said.

"Thanks, Umi," Lettuce smiled at her brother and sat down at the table. Her mother set down their dinner, and no one really knew what to say. Lettuce finished her meal first, "May I please be excused, I have some homework I have to do?"

"Of course," her mother said relieved that she still was focused on her school work. Lettuce went upstairs and began working on a math assignment; it was worth the most points out of the assignments that were due tomorrow, so she figured she would start that first. She worked at it for an hour and determined that it was the best job she could do on the geometry assignment. She moved on to the paper she had to write for English, it would be easy, she had to write a response to a current event, and there had been an article about the mews in the paper, she would definitely use that.

This assignment was finished in a short twenty minutes, and just as she finished her phone rang. She looked at the number and didn't recognize it.

"Moshi Moshi?"

"Midorikawa-san?"

"Hai, who is this?"

"It's Ito-san."

"Oh, um, not to be rude, but, how did you get my number?"

"I just asked one of the three girls that someone said you used to hang out with. They were a little reluctant to give me the information, but I can be very persuasive."

"Um, ok, was there something you wanted?"

"I forgot to write down the homework for math, and I was wondering what it was?"

"Oh, the geometry project, would you like me to e-mail a copy of the assignment instructions?"

"That'd be great, thanks. My email is ."

"Cool, mine is ," she said and quickly copied the instructions

"Love it, so you're really into marine wildlife?" he asked and she sent the file.

"Hai," she said and she heard a _bing_ in the background.

"Arigato," Ito thanked her.

"No problem, glad I could help. Um, this may sound like a dumb question, but I've been kinda out of it for a while, we have any classes together?"

"Hai, a lot actually. We have Homeroom, Math, English, Science, Language, and Music together."

"Oh, um, I'm sorry, like I said; I've been out of it. I've been having a hard time at work, but that's all fixed now."

"Did you quit? Oh, sorry for prying,"

"It's no big, and no, I just decided it was time for an attitude adjustment."

"All right, do you wanna hang out some time?"

Lettuce smiled, "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Sweet, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Hai, see you then," Lettuce said and hung up. "Oh my God," she said and looked at the clock. It was 11:30! She had school and work tomorrow. She had to get to bed right away.

She had sweet dreams that night, dreams of the school day awaiting her, she packed an outfit in her bag so she had something to change into after school, and then work. She grabbed her homework and went downstairs to eat a quick breakfast of an apple and un-buttered toast. She ate it as she walked to school and tossed the core in a trash can on campus.

"Lettuce?" she heard one of the girls that had bullied her ask in shock.

"Hai, was there something you wanted?" she asked and turned to face them.

"Uh, no, it's just, wow," another said.

"I have to get to homeroom," she said, and walked towards her homeroom. She walked in and her teacher, Suzuki-sensei could hardly believe his eyes.

"M-Midorikawa-san, is that you?"

Lettuce giggled, "Hai, Suzuki-Sensei."

"Wow, uh, you look great," he said.

"Now, now, Sensei, you aren't supposed to flirt with the students," Ito teased. Lettuce laughed as her teacher turned a bright shade of red, Suzuki was one of the younger teachers, a mere 25, just out of college. It's not like he was bad looking either, and Lettuce knew for a fact that many of the girls had a crush on him. But she just saw him as a teacher, a great teacher, who could be a really good friend, but still, a teacher of hers.

"I should probably sit down, the bells gonna ring in a few minutes," Lettuce told her teacher and sat down. Ito sat down next to her, "Have you always sat there?" she asked.

"Iie, I just got my seat moved yesterday, having issues with the guy next to me."

"Sorry to hear about that."

"Yesterday you seemed to be in an awful hurry to get somewhere, did you have work?"

"Um, I was supposed to, but after I got there I found out my boss had given us the day off. But some good came out of that, the attitude and appearance change. It'll take a lot more time than one day to be completely transformed, but I feel more confident already."

"You look more confident, I give you props for going for something so bold, it looks great."

"Thanks," she said with a slight blush, a lot of people had told her it looked good and she just soaked that in with a "thanks". But there was something about the way Ito said it that made her embarrassed by the flattery.

Ito smiled at her embarrassment, "So do you have to work today?" he asked as the bell rang.

Lettuce nodded and rolled her eyes as the bell rang, "In your seats everyone," Suzuki said and everyone took their seats. "Roll call, Arai-san?"

"Here!" he responded excitedly, pushing his glasses up from the tip of his nose. He went through the list and everyone responded with the routine enthusiasm, or lack thereof. Suzuki-Sensei then proceeded to start the lesson for the day. Lettuce started to take out a piece of paper to take notes on the incredibly dull subject of grammar when a rolled up piece of paper landed on her desk.

_Where do you work?_

Lettuce realized Toshihiro was the one who wrote the note and scribbled down her response,

_Café Mew Mew, why?_

_Mind if I tag along today?_

_Not at all. : )_

_Cool. XD_

They passed the note back and forth the entire class, stifling giggles the whole period. Of course this never presented an issue because Suzuki-Sensei was trying his best to focus on his lesson and didn't pay attention to his two best student's lack of participation.

"Did I do okay?" Suzuki asked Lettuce and Ito nervously.

"Hai, you did great," Ito responded, with a smile.

"Yeah," Lettuce agreed, hoping he wouldn't notice that they had no idea whether or not he had done well.

"Thank Kami, I was worried people would think it was too dull."

"No, you made grammar as exciting as it can be," Lettuce told him.

"All right, I should let you two go," he said and the two left, Ito closed the door, and they both burst out laughing.

"Oh, Kami, I thought we'd be caught for sure," Lettuce continued laughing.

"I know," Toshihiro said, gasping for air. Lettuce took a few deep breaths, regaining her composure and they went on to the next class.

~The End of the Day~

"I'll see you guys later," Toshihiro said with a wave to his friends, he walked to the edge of the street, where he agreed to meet Lettuce. Lettuce walked up to him, with a smile. Ito blinked a few times, making sure he wasn't imagining things. Lettuce was wearing dark-wash skinny jeans that hugged her figure nicely, showing off curves Ito never knew Lettuce had. She was wearing a dark-green sleeveless turtle neck with a jean jacket and knee length black heeled boots. She looked beyond hot.

"Ito-san?" she waved a hand in front of his face, and he shook his head.

"Sorry, wow, you look great," he apologized.

Lettuce giggled, "Thanks. Well, I don't wanna be late," she said, and started to lead the way. She thought about which way to go, her secret way, or the normal pathway. She decided on her secret path, "You can't tell anyone about this way; it's a secret, okay?" He nodded and a light snow started to fall, Lettuce pulled her jacket closer. She felt something warm suddenly rest on her shoulders, turned and saw Toshihiro had given her his jacket. She blushed, "T-thank you."

"No problem, Midorikawa-san, you seemed to need it," he said looking at her outfit.

"Won't you get cold though?" she inquired, not wanting him to catch a cold.

"No, my shirts nice and warm," he said with a smile. She smiled back and suddenly stopped. How could she possibly return like nothing had happened? True, she wasn't angry or sad, but she had caught Ichigo and Ryou in the act, things wouldn't be normal. She didn't want things to be normal, but how could Ichigo or Ryou ever forgive her?

"Midorikawa-san, are you okay?" Ito asked, seeing she looked panicked.

"I-I can't go back there," she realized.

"Yes, you can, I don't know what happened, but it made you stronger, whatever happened, you can handle anything."

"Ito-san, I-I just can't do it," she said, starting to tremble.

Toshihiro turned and gently held Lettuce, making her look into his eyes, "You can do it, Lettuce, you just have to go in with your head held high, show everyone that this is the new you."

"Right," she said snapping out of it. He let go and she realized something, "Did you just call me Lettuce?"

"Uh, hai, I hope you don't mind, I mean, I had no ri-" he rambled only to be interrupted.

"It's all right, it just startled me for a second, you can call me Lettuce if you want," she said with a light blush.

"T-thanks," he said, more than a little embarrassed, roses blooming on his cheeks.

"We've gotta hurry," Lettuce said and grabbed his hand pulling him along. He picked up the pace, matching her speed. They arrived at the café and Lettuce took a deep breath and Ito smiled at her encouragingly. She smiled back and walked in, Ito close behind. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw that Mint was the only one here.

"We aren't opened yet, can't you read?" Mint asked not recognizing her friend.

"Mint-san! It's me, Lettuce!" Lettuce chuckled.

Mint's eyes widened, "Lettuce, Oh My God!" Mint couldn't believe it. She looked at Lettuce again, she could hardly recognize her comrade, but a closer look revealed that this was indeed Lettuce Midorikawa. Then Mint looked behind Lettuce and say A BOY!

"Lettuce, I didn't know you had a boyfriend," Mint said, looking hurt she hadn't been informed.

"Nonononono, Ito-san is just a friend," Lettuce said shaking her head and hands as she turned beet-red.

"Hai, we're just friends, I'm Ito Toshihiro," Ito said and extended his hand, he didn't like Mint's arrogance, but she was obviously a friend of Lettuce's, so he wouldn't piss her off.

"Hmm, Aziawa Minto," Mint said and ignored his hand, "Lettuce, you better get changed before Shirogane gets down here, he'll want you working right away."

"Nice to meet you, too" he said, in a moderately sarcastic tone.

"You're right, I'll be back in a few," Lettuce said with a wave and quickly changed. As she returned Ryou came down, and she hadn't been in uniform he never would've recognized the beauty standing in front of him.

"L-Lettuce?" Ryou was still unsure it was her.

"Hai, Shirogane-san?" she asked with an innocent tilt of her head, Ito stifled a laugh.

"Uh, wow, you weren't kidding when you said you made a change."

"I wanted to apologize, for yesterday, to you and Ichigo-san," she said, looking down.

"Um, no problem, I'm sorry too."

"I'm glad you aren't angry, uh, I guess I should get to work," she said with a smile. She started putting chairs down and Ito started helping, seeing how Mint just sat at a table and no one else had showed up. "Arigato, Ito-san," she smiled at him.

"Hmm," Minto said taking a sip of her tea, this Ito character's appearance could work to an advantage, not just when helping around the café either. No, Lettuce needed someone special, and Mint was determined to help her find someone, and this Ito seemed like he would do just fine. She would talk to her co-workers about it later.

The day was fairly busy, and while the other mews showed up Lettuce and Ichigo felt swamped. Lettuce's new found burst of self-confidence prevented her from tripping and breaking things, so she could work with ease. Pudding however was performing as usual, breaking things, and begging customers for tips. Zakuro never worked very hard, she just put in minimal effort, and she worked there because she had too. Though she would never admit it, she had grown very much attached to the place and the people. Ito observed all this with curiosity, none of these girls had anything in common, how could they all possibly end up working at the café?

Ito was unaware of the special bond the girls had, he could clearly see they all cared for one another, but he couldn't see what bound them together. He couldn't see the animal of each of the mews, he couldn't see the ears and tails, or the costumes, or the common love for the Earth they lived on.

"You've been here awhile, sir, would you like your check?" Zakuro asked Ito.

"Oh, sorry, did you need this table?" he asked politely.

"Uh, yeah," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Then I'll head out, just tell Midorikawa-san to give me a call when she gets off," he said and handed her the money for the four coffees he had drank. Zakuro blinked a few times then delivered Lettuce Ito's message. Ito departed, and realized Lettuce still had his jacket, he thought about going back to get it, but he decided she'd need it more.


	4. Chapter 4

**I haven't updated in awhile, stupid lack of inspiration. I don't own TMM.**

"Oh, he left?" Lettuce asked, perfectly hiding her disappointment, saying it in a high voice, as if she were idly curious.

"Yeah, do you know him?" Zakuro asked, curious as to what Lettuce's relation to that moderately strange guy.

"Hai, he's a friend from school, we should probably get back to work," Lettuce told her with a smile. Zakuro nodded, forgetting the other part of the message. Lettuce had so much more strength around Ito, she smiled even broader when she thought of him. She looked at the clock, it was already 5 o' clock, an hour 'til she got out of the place. She could hardly wait for her shift to be over, something about Ito made her heart pound.

The day proceeded to be busy, but that was expected for a Friday afternoon. She couldn't believe how long an hour seemed. It was ridiculous, but she knew that she would have a great time after work, and it kept her going. Lettuce thought back to about a month ago, the day Ichigo and Ryou hooked up.

_~Flashback~_

_The sky was overcast, and Lettuce couldn't believe it hadn't started raining. She walked into the café and Mint and Ichigo were already there, bickering as usual, but Mint seemed angrier than she normally was._

"_You just broke up with Masaya a month ago, and think of one of your best friends!" Mint shouted._

"_Mint, I've thought this over a lot. Masaya hurt me, yes, but I need to move on, and he can help me! Plus, if she was going to make a move she'd have done by now! And if he was interested than he would have said something, we've connected before. I need the hurt to stop, I don't know why Masaya broke up with me, but he did! The bastard said 'I loved you, but it's time we both moved on, Ichigo, I know you'll never understand this. But we aren't meant to be.' He's right I'll never understand, but I'm not gonna waste my life. Ryou Shirogane has always been there for me, and I'll be damned if he won't be there for me now!" Ichigo vented angrily, she had begun panting._

_Mint tapped Ichigo on the shoulder, and gestured at Lettuce, who had heard the whole thing. Lettuce had just faked a smile, "I hope it goes well for you, Ichigo," she said and went into the dressing room, she let the tears flow, and she couldn't believe that Ichigo finally decided on Ryou. It pissed her off, Ichigo had always had the choice to have any man she wanted, and the first time she was without someone she takes the one Lettuce cared about the most! _

That day was one of the longest that Lettuce had even endured, she had to pretend from that day on that she was okay. But that day hadn't ended there, it ended yesterday, and a new day had come, a much happier day.

"My shift's over," Lettuce told her friends and went back into the dressing room, quickly changing into her outfit, and she realized she still had Ito's coat. She smiled, and put the slightly larger black coat on. She was worried that Ito would catch a cold, but she also knew that he was too kind to say something.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, that guy said he wanted you to call him after you were done," Zakuro said, then looked at Lettuce. Her jaw nearly dropped, and Lettuce laughed.

"Zakuro-san, are you okay?" Lettuce asked, still laughing.

"Hai, wow, you really did a great job," Zakuro said and a slight smile spread across her face, "Have fun with your friend."

"Thanks," Lettuce smiled, and walked out into the now heavily-falling snow. She got her cell phone out and dialed Ito's number.

"I'm glad you called, Midorikawa-san," Ito said, she could see him smile broadly.

"Zakuro said you wanted me to," Lettuce smiled, she didn't want to sound like that was the only reason she was calling, but she didn't want to sound too excited either, that might creep him out.

"So, do you have plans for this evening?" he asked casually, with a small hair flip. He wanted to hang out with her, but he didn't want her to feel awkward, he had an idea she was still getting over the blond guy she had talked too. She had changed to help with that, but Rome wasn't built in a day. She was so much happier, she paid attention in classes, and she learned who was in each of her classes. Before she had rarely smiled, she didn't know anyone's name, and she seemed distant from everyone else. He knew she didn't know him, that's why he had introduced himself when they collided in the hallway. Now it was as if a curtain had been lifted.

"Iie, did you have something in mind?" Lettuce asked.

"Uh, not exactly, but if you wanted to do anything I'm game," Ito said, he knew there were a few new movies out, and even if she wanted to do something else there were endless possibilities in Tokyo, one of the most densely populated cities in the world.

"Um, I don't really know what we should do either, how bout I head home for an hour? Then we can meet Uptown, I haven't eaten yet, should I?"

"Sounds good, but no, we can get something to eat then start doing whatever it is we want. How bout we meet at you place though?"

"Okay, I'll see you soon," she said.

"See you," he said and hung up the phone. He thought about what Lettuce had been wearing, if she was going home she was probably going to change into something even better looking. He opened his closet in search of something that would look good but he would still be warm in. He finally decided on his only pair of light jeans and a black collared buttoned shirt. He looked good in it, and it would look good with his black coat that kept him the perfect temperature, which was ideal in the snow that was falling heavily. He looked at his shaggy black hair, Lettuce had changed, and he was getting sick of his hair constantly being in his eyes, so he could too.

He put his wallet in his pocket and started out to a hairdresser. The first place he found he that said "Walk-Ins Welcome" he went in and looked around.

"Hello?" he heard someone ask.

"Hi, um, you aren't too busy are you?" he asked looking at the empty room.

"No, hun, I'm closing in an hour, but I can take care of you," he saw a middle-aged woman with long brown hair come out from the back room.

"Thank you," he said and she smiled.

"So, sit down, I'll wash your hair, and you can tell me what you want, I'm Sasaki Aya, what's your name darling?"

"I'm Ito Toshihiro, it's nice to meet you, Sasaki-san," he said and went towards the station she specified.

"So, what's a handsome young man like yourself doing here on a Friday night?" Aya asked as she wet his hair.

"Well, it's kind of weird," he said, but he felt comfortable here. "I've got a new friend, and she recently made a change in her life, and she inspired me some. I'm not doing anything as drastic as her, but she always looks really good, and I hang out with her a lot, and I feel like I should too. Besides, I've had this hairstyle for a long time."

"Hmm, so, are you interested in this girl? Oh, what am I saying, it's none of my business," she asked.

"I don't mind. And I don't know, we're going to hang out tonight actually, but I don't know if I like her more than a friend. We've only known each other for a little while, and I wanna get to know her a little more."

"That's smart, but does she not like you too much right now? If she doesn't like you the way you are now she won't like you later," Aya was concerned for the youth of this generation.

"No, she likes me for me, like I said before, it's dumb, but since we spend plenty of time together I don't think it'd hurt to look half as good as her," Ito realized it sounded like he was being kinda shallow. But, he was being serious, and he felt the need to do this.

"No, I guess not, so what did you have in mind?" Aya asked, she felt an unusual concern for this boy and his problems.

"Uh, I don't know, I definitely want it shorter though."

"All right, I won't make it too short, but how bout a surprise?" Sasaki smiled, it reminded her of two or three days ago when Lettuce Midorikawa had come in.

"Sure," he said, and she turned him around. She looked at his face and decided instantly to give his hair a choppy tousled look, it would be an average length for a guy, and have and it should be moderately spiked. Yes, that was what she decided. It took every amount of time he had so that he wouldn't be late to meet Lettuce.

"There you go," she said and turned him around. He looked in the mirror and he could hardly believe what he saw. It was unbelievable, there was no way that could be him.

"That can't be me," he whispered out loud.

"That is you," she said, "Now what time do you have to meet your friend?"

"Oh, crap, I'm gonna be late if I don't hurry," he said with a glance at his watch, "How much do I owe you?" She gave him a low price and hurried him along. He rushed to Lettuce's house that was only a few blocks away. He arrived at her door and it was exactly a half-hour from when he had hung up with Lettuce. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. A man with brown short hair and glasses answered the door with a small frown when he saw a boy. "Um, i-is this the Midorikawa residence?" he was suddenly nervous in this man's presence, if he was Lettuce's father he wanted to make a good impression.

"Hai, I don't suppose you're here for Uri?" her father being hopeful.

"Uh, no, sir," Ito supposed that was Lettuce's brother.

Mr. Midorikawa sighed, "Come in, lad," he opened the door and invited Ito in. "Lettuce, someone's here for you!" her father called up to her.

"Hai!" Lettuce called down and came down the stairs. Her father frowned at her outfit, Ito smiled. Lettuce was wearing a jean skirt with leggings on, and a long sleeved white blouse.

"Do you know this young man?" her father asked.

"Hai, Dad, this is Ito Toshihiro," she said, smiling as she introduced him.

"All right, lad, have her home before midnight," her father was frowning even more, his girl was growing up.

"Of course, sir, and sir, may I say something?"

"Hai, you may."

"We're just friends, we're just going to hang out," he told him, seeing her father had obviously gotten the wrong idea.

"Oh, well have a good night you two," her father was surprised.

"Good night, Dad," Lettuce said and gave her father a kiss on the cheek. The two departed and once they were out the door Lettuce commented on his haircut. "I like it, it looks good on you."

"Thanks, it was kind of a sporadic decision, but I'm glad I got it, and glad you like it."


	5. Chapter 5

Lettuce woke up with a smile on her face, she had had such a wonderful time with Ito last night. They decided on going to the fish market nearby and got simmered squid with satoimo taro potatoes, eating as they made their way downtown. Once they were there they hadn't done anything in particular, just talking, going into shops when they felt like it or when they needed to warm up, but never actually purchasing anything apart from a coffee or two to warm up.

They hadn't done anything special, but the time was special, and she had had fun, and that was what was important. It was Saturday, so she did have to go to work, but she didn't care today, she would hold her heard just as high as she had yesterday. Ito said he had something to do today, but he would call her after he was done, and they could at least chat.

* * *

_~Last Night at the Café~ _

_ "Hey, Keiichiro," Zakuro said leaning against the wall of the kitchen._

_ "Zakuro, what are you still doing here?" he seemed confused as to what was going on._

_ "Oh, didn't you know, we girls stayed and talked for awhile, they just left?"_

_ "Uh, no, I didn't," Keiichiro was still confused as to why Zakuro was here._

_ "We were talking about how we always seem so swamped," Zakuro said, "well, we thought, well maybe we should hire someone else."_

_ "Did you have someone in mind?" Keiichiro asked getting more and more confused as the conversation progressed._

_ "Hai, actually, his name is Ito Toshihiro, he's one of the top in his class and he's fairly good looking, I think he'd be popular and he'd work hard."_

_ "You seem to have put a lot of thought into it, if he's interested and is willing to come in for an interview I'll consider it," he said, this was odd, but he was willing, extra help would be nice, and if this guy was good he could probably get one of the girls to help him in the kitchen so they could fill orders faster._

_ "Thanks, I'll let him know," she said smiling devilishly at the man who was 4 years her senior._

_ "Good Night," he said, and Zakuro left the café, dialing Ito's number that Ichigo had gotten out of him for this purpose._

_ "Moshi-Moshi?" Ito asked, trying to hear over the background noise of downtown._

_ "Hey, it's Zakuro, I'm a friend of Lettuce's," she told him._

_ "Yeah, you work with her right?" he asked, unsure of what she wanted, and he didn't know if Lettuce was supposed to know._

_ "Yeah, and we were thinking, would you like to work there?"_

_ "Um, are you implying something?" he asked thinking of all the pink and girly-ness._

_ "No, not at all, we just thought you might want spend more time with Lettuce," he thought about being with Lettuce so much, wondering if seeing each at school and work would be good for their relationship. Then he thought of how cute she looked in that maid uniform._

_ "All right, is there some sort of catch?"_

_ "No, not at all, Keiichiro says he wants to interview you first, but when I mentioned you he seemed impressed."_

_ "All right, what time should I show up?"_

_ "The first shift starts at 9:30, so be there at 9, oh, and why don't we keep this a surprise for Lettuce?"_

_ "All right, thanks, I'll be there," he said and hung up the phone, still suspicious of the offer._

* * *

Ito put on a nice white button up shirt, undoing the first button, trying to look professional but not too stuffy at the same time. He put on a tie, but loosened it. He thought about wearing dress pants but decided against it, he wore a nice pair of jeans and good pair of sneakers. Business casual, it worked for him. He looked at the clock, it was 8:30, he sighed, and he would have to eat breakfast on the go. He was still skeptical about the whole thing, but now he was excited, he thought of this as he brushed his teeth. He grabbed an apple , a slice of toast, and some winter green flavored gum just so his breath wouldn't be awful when he arrived.

He took Lettuce's secret pathway, he knew the other way because his ex-girlfriend had loved going there and he, being a gentleman, always paid. He cringed at the total that had rung up. As he pulled his jacket closer he thought of Lettuce. Things between them had really gone since she made the change, he liked it. She was so much happier, and more confident, no more stuttering, no more sadness, he smiled. He couldn't wait until she got some new friends, he had nothing against the ones at the café, well except Mint, but wither way, he could tell Lettuce felt trapped here, and some new faces might break the tie that had been hurting her.

He looked up at the café, it was such a prissy looking place, but this meant he could get closer to Lettuce he would do it. His phone vibrated, he had a text from one of his friends.

_Hey, man, what's up?_

_ I've got a job interview, g2g, _he responded quickly and tried the front door, it was locked as he predicted. He went around the back and found the door that led into the kitchen unlocked, it surprised him but he went in anyway.

Keiichiro turned around surprised, "We're not open yet, sir."

"I'm here for an interview," he said a little embarrassed.

"Oh, Ito-san, I'm sorry, I didn't know Zakuro meant so soon, not that I mind," he said.

"Thanks for this opportunity, Akasaka-san," he smiled at the man, really hoping to make a good impression.

"So, do you have any previous experience waiting?"

"I used to work at a coffee shop, but that's as far as that goes," he said, slightly embarrassed.

"Well it's not hard to pick up as long as you aren't clumsy," Keiichiro said, it wasn't the best but it was something he could work with, "So, do you have a copy your transcript and attendance record?"

"Hai," he said and handed it over, Keiichiro looked it over and he was impressed. Ito had only missed two days of school and his grades were exceptional.

"Well, you seem nice, you have some experience, and your record speaks for itself, we'll get you fitted for a uniform A.S.A.P but in the mean time we have a spare, hold on," he said and momentarily Ito panicked . Keiichiro saw this and laughed, "It's like what I'm wearing not the girls, before I go get the spare, is there a reason you're working here?" Ito seemed confused, "I mean you don't have experience, but you do have a clean record, you could work any crummy high school job you wanted, why here?"

"It actually wasn't my idea, Zakuro set it up for me, I'm still a little confused as to why, but I like spending time with Lettuce, so I think it'll be fun working together. Though I'm not sure it'll be best, only having a break from each other at home might be too much, but it's worth a try, right?" he looked scared, maybe he shouldn't have said that?

"I think that's really sweet," Keiichiro smiled at him and went to go get Aoyama's old uniform. Ito frowned when he saw that but he tried to squeeze into it, Aoyama had been smaller at the time, and Ito was taller than Aoyama now.

"Ah, it's kinda small, but it'll work," Ito said, looking in mirror, it wouldn't look too ridiculous when it fit.

"Why don't you just wear your normal clothes today, let's get some measurements first," Keiichiro laughed, he was glad Ito was willing, but the boy looked ridiculous, being larger than the baker himself, that uniform was ridiculously small.

"Thanks, Akasaka-san," Ito said trying to smile but too embarrassed. Keiichiro quickly got his measurements for a uniform and Ito went to change into his normal clothes.

Keiichiro smiled, "You can wait for the girls to show up in the dining area, they'll show you the ropes, I'll make you Lettuce's trainee."

"Thanks again," he said, he remembered the first thing Lettuce had done was put chairs down, but he saw the floor was dirty, so he decided he would sweep before he did, he looked around for a broom and eventually found it, his thoughts wandering to Lettuce. What would she say? Would she be happy? Or would she be hurt that he hadn't told her what he was planning? He was growing increasingly worried as he bent down and swept the pile of filth into a dustpan, throwing it out.

The door opened and he looked up, not realizing he was holding his breath, it was Pudding. She was smiling and humming a tune softly to herself, and she didn't even notice Ito until she was almost on top of him. The younger girl started to trip and Ito reached up, catching her. And then Lettuce walked in, Ito's hands on Pudding's waist, she was blushing from embarrassment at not paying attention.

"Thanks, Ito-niichan, na no da, sorry for tripping over you," Pudding blushed.

"No problem," in the confusion he hadn't noticed that Lettuce walked in.

"Ito-san, Pudding-chan," Lettuce nodded in greeting, though confused by the sight before her, did Ito like younger girls?

"Lettuce, hey," he smiled at her, his eyes shining brightly before her.

"Uh, not to be rude, but what are you doing here?" her voice had more edge in it than she intended. She realized Ito shouldn't have been there, what was going on? He said he had something to do, what the hell was he doing here with Pudding?

"I'm sorry, I should've told you last night when I found out," he started sputtering out apologies, and blushing.

"Found out what?" she didn't understand, what had happened?

"I'm working here," he smiled at her.

"W-what?" she was confused, when had this happened?

"Lettuce, we're gonna be working together, I hope you aren't mad, I wanted to surprise you," he blushed, he cared about her, and he was scared of losing her, but he didn't know it, he couldn't pinpoint the cause of the rising terror in his heart.

"Really?" she asked in disbelief, this was great! She had been fed up with work and now she had someone to make it bearable!

"Yeah, you aren't mad are you?" he asked worried.

"Not at all," she said, "I'm really happy you're working here," she said and gave him a hug. He held her in his arms, and squeezed her tighter, breathing in her scent, getting a sudden rush of pleasure, he immediately pulled away just as Zakuro and Mint walked in.

"Sorry," he said and went into the bathroom, what was happening to him?

"Ito-san, are you okay?" Lettuce asked him, concern written all over her face.

"Yeah, I guess I just ate something messed up this morning," he lied.

"Ito-san, let me in, please," she begged.

"I-I'll be out in a minute, you should get in your uniform so we can open up," he said, he just didn't want to her.

"Uh, okay," she said, so that was it! He just wanted to see her in a skimpy outfit! What an asshole! She went into the changing room. Her eyes looked glassy to the others in the room.

"What exactly has our little porpoise that was glowing yesterday when she left reduced to tears?" Mint asked, putting her arm around Lettuce.

Lettuce wiped her eyes taking one of her contacts out unnoticeably, "Nothing, my contact came out," she said, held it up, and put it back in.

"Sure, that's what it is, not a problem with a certain boyfriend?" Zakuro asked.

"He's not my boyfriend," Lettuce said, her voice unconsciously dropping in pitch and volume. They rolled their eyes and showed there friend they really didn't believe her. All day Lettuce avoided Ito's gaze, he had lost her trust. The day sucked in all aspects, her friends were bugging her, and she couldn't bear to look in Ito's eyes, Ichigo and Ryou where making out all day, and all her customers were rude snotty teens. Not only that, every time Ito served a girl he would always smile kindly, nothing behind it, just good customer service.

As soon as her shift was over she quickly changed into her black jean skirt, leggings, a black button-up blouse with quarter length sleeves and silver buttons, the only color in her outfit was her heels, they were candy red. She rushed out of the café, not saying good-bye to anyone except Keiichiro, who she passed on her way out. She ran home, not wanting to face anyone, her cell phone rang, she looked at the caller, it was Zakuro, she pressed ignore and kept running. She heard someone chasing after her, and knew in her shoes it was only a matter of time before they caught up, but she kept going anyway,

"LETTUCE!" she heard Ryou call after her, she turned around, seeing him out of breath, but she was glaring at him.

"What is it?!" she didn't want to be angry, she hated conflict, but she couldn't help it.

"You tell me? The girls are ready to kill that Ito character, what happened?"

"Here's what happened, Ryou, I thought I could trust someone and it turns out I can't," Lettuce wiped the tears out of her eyes, glaring at him still.

"And that's how the wheel turns, and we move on, but I think you're making a mistake. I'm sorry if Ichigo and I hurt-"

"Ryou, are you that self-centered?! This isn't about you, it's about the man that helped me realize I don't need you!" she shouted at him, this was driving her crazy, and she couldn't believe how she was acting, but she couldn't bring herself to feel bad about it.

He seemed at a loss for words, but then he looked up at her and smiled, "And you're running away from him?"

"You have no right to say anything, you don't know what happened and I don't need you to tell me what I'm doing wrong!" she started to storm off and he grabbed her arm, "Let go of me!"

"How do you feel right now?" Ryou asked a look of curiosity written all over his face.

"How can you ask me that? I feel awful and betrayed!"

"And how do you feel when you're around Ito-san?"

"I felt confident, like someone actually cared, and could make all the problems and the rest of the asinine world go away, and now I can't even look at him," Ryou gave her a look as if to ask her to continue. "Why the hell do you even care?"

"Because you're my friend, Lettuce, so why can't you look at him?"

"He just wanted to work here to see me in a skimpy outfit, all that bull about wanted to spend time with me, it was just lies. I trusted him, and he betrayed that trust," she was sobbing now and on her head was in her hands, and she was on the ground. It was raining, not snowing, but raining, and the weather reflected her mood perfectly.

"I think you need to hear the boy's side of it, because he's a wreck right now, and the girls don't have a clue what's going on because he won't let them see him like this so he's left and wandering around somewhere. You're made for each other, Lettuce, you guys barely know each other, but you've already fallen for each other, you haven't realized it yet, but everyone else has." She looked at him and he felt bad he had hurt her but he needed to open her eyes to what was going on.

"Thank you, Ryou, I'm sorry I said some awful things," she gave him a hug and got out her phone. He just smiled at her as she dialed Ito's number and got no answer, "Thanks for not running away from a hug, but I've got to go find the one who did,: she said and ran towards the café, she would start there, tell the girls what was going on, and try to get any hints out of them, then find him, and it had to be fast. So she did, and she got nothing out of it, except sympathy, and that wasn't what she needed.

"I appreciate this, but I've got to find him," she said and ran out of the café again, only this time with determination not sadness. She went onward to try to find him, and walked around the park, looking at his home, going to places they had gone to, no avail. She thought of everything she knew about him, she thought of his email, darkreadrr, and she remembered he used to work at a coffee shop, she knew about a coffee shop that had poetry readings every night, it was worth a shot, and it was nearby. She walked in, seeing only a few people in, "Have you seen someone named Ito Toshihiro?" she asked the person behind the counter, she couldn't see their face.

"No," he said with an Osaka accent, never showing his face, "what's it to you anyway?" he asked.

"I made a mistake, and I need to make things right, I just wanted to know if you'd seen him," she said desperately.

"I've seen him, but he wasn't himself, he hasn't been for about a week, but it's been ok, 'til he showed up for work tonight, he wasn't doing good, he was wreck."

"Oh God, this is all my fault," she said.

"You mess with my boy?" he asked, turning around sounding angry.

"I didn't mean to, we had a misunderstanding," she hadn't looked up, and then she saw him smirking. He hopped over the counter and gave her hug.

"Lettuce, I didn't mean to hurt you, whatever I did I'm sorry, and if you want I don't have to work at the café, just don't scare me like that."

"Don't scare you like that? How do you think I felt? No, this isn't your fault; I just misjudged what you said. I have to tell you something," she looked up at him desperately. "I know we've barely known each other, but I can't help it, I don't know why, and I don't know what will happen, but I love you," she sobbed into his chest.

"Lettuce, I love you too," he said and kissed her forehead, but she got on her tip toes and she pulled him down into a deep kiss.


End file.
